Weekly market review: technology leads a volatile selloff as the dollar strengthens

The employment report released on November 6 showed that the US economy added 165,000 jobs in October, while unemployment declined from 4.2% to 4.1%. The stronger-than-expected report reinforced market expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to consider tighter policy. The Fed's target range remains at 3.75%-4.00% following its October 28 decision.

In Israel, the Bank of Israel policy rate is 3.25%, while the latest 12-month inflation rate is 1.6%, within the 1%-3% target range.

The 10-year US Treasury yield declined from 4.94% on October 30 to 4.84% on November 6, a weekly decrease of 10 basis points in yield to maturity. The yield rose on Friday following the jobs report but remained below the previous week's close. A lower yield generally supports bond prices, but the yield move is not an investor's realized return, which also depends on purchase price, coupon and duration.

TA-35 closed at 3,941.14, down 2.90% from 4,058.95 on October 30. TA-125 ended at 3,823.63, down 2.86% from 3,936.27. These are close-to-close calculations, not a sum of daily percentage moves.

Trading was especially volatile. On Thursday, TA-35 fell 3.69% and TA-125 lost 3.38%, following declines on Wednesday. Friday brought a 3.09% rebound in TA-35 and a 2.81% gain in TA-125, led by banks and accompanied by gains in Nova and Tower, but the rebound did not erase the weekly decline.

The S&P 500 fell 2.68% to 7,376.86, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 3.37% to 24,579.42. On Thursday alone, the S&P 500 lost about 4.4% and Nasdaq fell about 5.5%, before a partial recovery on Friday.

The selloff was concentrated in technology companies and shares linked to artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Investors reassessed investment spending, cash burn and the potential for tighter regulation following the US midterm elections. Chip shares recovered on Friday, but the strong employment report kept interest rates at the center of attention.

The Bank of Israel representative USD/ILS rate was 3.194 on November 6, compared with 3.118 on October 30. That represents a 2.44% weekly appreciation of the dollar against the shekel. Representative rates are reference points, not transaction quotes.

For an unhedged portfolio, dollar appreciation offset part of the decline in US equity indices when the result is measured in shekels. It did not eliminate the index losses, but it reduced them in shekel terms.

Weekly and month-to-date changes compare with the October 30 close, while year-to-date compares with the end of 2025. US index returns are in dollars and exclude dividends. Figures are frozen for this edition.